


WicDiv: A Memoriam

by GoofyGoldenGirl



Category: The Wicked + The Divine
Genre: Matter of Life and Death, Other, Philosophy, Reflection, exploration of themes, thank you letter, wicdiv - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 04:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20539934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoofyGoldenGirl/pseuds/GoofyGoldenGirl
Summary: A reflection on The Wicked + The Divine





	WicDiv: A Memoriam

As Wicdiv comes to a close (and what a close it was!) here I am sitting at the kitchen counter in my apartment and pondering over the last five years. Five years. It seems like a long stretch and yet it passes within a blink of an eye. Back when I first picked up wicdiv I was a twenty year old college junior. I was fresh off from reading Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers and after hearing good things about Wicdiv, decided to give it a go. Little did I know then what I would be diving into, both in story, and life, and flash forward to me now at twenty five, a graduate student, and stewing in that bittersweetness that coming with reading a final chapter. Sad to leave it, like waving off an old friend and knowing that there is little chance you two will come across each other again. And at the same time, filled with a fond joy at having the opportunity to have a wonderful relationship, knowing that you’ll always have the memories you made to keep.

During my time reading, I found Wicdiv to be an exploration of the thin line between life and death, and how they are woven so tight together that you can untangle them and they’re still be a few threads stubbornly hanging onto each other. When you’re at an age like mine, the idea that you’ll die one day like everyone else isn’t normally something that crosses your mind. Death is a far off concept, associated with getting old, an event that many feel are decades away. Untimely deaths: from violence, accidents, illnesses, suicide, and mere chance is something of a stroke of bad luck if not an oddity. When I picked up Wicdiv, I was familiar with the pain of losing a loved one, but never stopped to philosophize the whys of it. I was reading for the story: the what will happen next, the who’da dun its, looking deep into what makes the characters tick, and storytelling meta. The themes of life and death were there, but always at the back of my mind until the plot caused it to happen. It wasn’t until I started my first job working with older adults that I was able to relate the events of Wicdiv to those of my own life. Death was an ever constant, yet at the same time there was such vigor for life. The atmosphere reminded me at the time of Dionysus’ rave from issue eight, and looking back now (spoilers for latest issue) Cassandra’s eulogy. No matter the personal belief of what death meant to these individuals, it was as a whole accepted as just another part of life. It was eyeopening to me, and as I would flip through the pages of Wicdiv, I saw bits and pieces of everyone I had cared for. When I got to the part in issue 44 where Minerva expresses her fear of dying and everyone steps in to assure her that while her fear is valid, it would eventually be “ok”, I understood. I don’t think I would have five or even four years ago, but that situation was something that I had seen and experienced, and made my connections all more the worthwhile. 

So, now that we’ve reached the end, I’d like to say thank you. Thank you Kieron Gillen, Jamie Mc Kelvie, Matt Wilson and others on the team that we may not know about, for the time spent crafting and perfecting such a beautiful story. Thank you to the fandom for being so welcoming, for the days pouring over fanfic here on Ao3 and fanart on tumblr, sharing each other’s theories, and for screaming together when the good and the bad came upon us. 

To quote “an evil old lady”:

_I love you. I love you all. I miss you. _


End file.
